Seven Years Abroad: Now He Wants Us Back

On the seventh year after we moved overseas, my 13-year-old daughter, Anna Jackman, is hailed as the internationally renowned piano prodigy.

No matter how difficult the song is, Anna is capable of weaving beautiful melodies with it.

But there's only one song that Anna refuses to play. It's a seemingly ordinary lullaby. She's worried that she might end up forgiving that despicable man again once she plays it on the piano.

So, when said man, Micah Jackman, turns up on our doorstep with a piano that's handcrafted by a master craftsman and asks Anna to play him the lullaby, she just shakes her head calmly in return.

"I don't know how to play that song, sir."

Micah's eyes redden immediately. He grabs Anna's hand and navigates it to the piano keys.

"That's impossible! Aren't you a piano prodigy, Anna? Haven't you always wanted to have a piano of your own? I've already bought you your own piano this time! From now on, if you have any wishes, you should tell me, and I'll grant them for you."

Anna draws back her right hand coldly.

"It's fine, sir. I can earn my own money to buy my own piano. You should take the piano back to your daughter."

Micah feels as though his heart has plunged into the abyss. He immediately pulls Anna into his arms.

"What are you talking about, Anna? You're my only daughter!"

But Anna looks a little puzzled.

"Didn't you say that Ms. Sinclair's daughter is the only one worthy of becoming your child? Didn't you give the piano you promised for me to Ms. Sinclair's daughter?"

Having reached that point, Anna just smiles nonchalantly at Micah.

"It's fine, sir. Since you like Ms. Sinclair, you can just raise her daughter. I'm already content enough with Mom by my side."

Micah Jackman's heart churned with a hundred conflicting emotions. No matter how much he'd speculated before coming here, he never imagined his daughter Anna Jackman's attitude would be so resolute.

What he didn't know was that Anna and I had already given him countless chances, yet he remained completely unmoved.

During the five years we were married, he had endless opportunities to be honest with us about his identity, to tell us he was actually the eldest son of the Jackman family. Yet he remained silent the entire time.

Whenever Anna said she wanted to play piano for him, he would always brush her off by pretending to be poor.

"Alright, but I don't have enough money right now. When I earn more money, I'll buy you a big piano."

For five years, I took Anna to the plaza every day to perform and earn money.

He just watched coldly. He watched for five whole years.

Every time we packed up and came home, Anna would ask me hopefully, "Mommy, did we earn enough money to buy a piano yet? I want to play a lullaby for Daddy. It's the first piano piece I've learned!"

Whenever this happened, I would count the money in our bag and shake my head at her.

"We're still a little short. We'll save more tomorrow, and we'll have enough soon."

Finally, one month before Anna's birthday, I counted the bag of loose change and discovered with delight that we had enough to buy the cheapest piano.

But when I took Anna's hand and arrived at the piano store, I spotted Micah on the second floor immediately. He was holding his first love's daughter while they looked at pianos together.

My hand trembled as I pointed at the piano they were examining and asked the salesperson, "How much does that piano cost?"

The salesperson gave a standard professional smile. "That Steinway piano was reserved by that gentleman a long time ago. The entire instrument was handcrafted by masters. The price is 800 thousand dollars."

Eight hundred thousand dollars. In an instant, all the blood in my body froze.

People had told me before that Micah's background was unusual, but looking at our drafty house and shabby furniture, I would never have believed that Micah was actually wealthy.

Thinking about it now, I suppose it really must have been hard on him, to be willing to endure living in that dilapidated house for five years.

Seeing my silence, Anna asked me curiously, "Mommy, does Daddy have a lot of money? Did he order that piano for me?"

Anna was still too young to understand the relationship between the people on the second floor. Looking at her dress that had been washed until it faded, I opened my mouth but couldn't find the words.